Here’s How Much An Olympic Medal Is Worth

how much olympic medal worth

How much are Olympic medals worth? Well, it depends.

The value and quality of Olympic medals definitely matter, especially for the athletes who compete for countries that don’t pay athletes. In the past, the U.S. has awarded $10-25k for winning Olympic medals while Azerbaijan paid $510k for athletes who won a gold medal.

For the other countries, it’s not uncommon for athletes to sell their medals for cash after the Olympics. So, if you want to grab cash with your Olympic medal there are three options for determining the value.

1. Scrap Value Of An Olympic Medal

Championship athletes at the Olympics aren’t actually given a pure Gold medal. Since the 1912 games in Stockholm, athletes have received gold-plated medals. According to MONEY, the PyeongChang Olympic gold medals are plated with about 1% of pure gold – totaling about 6-grams of the total 586-gram weight.

Using CoinApps.com to calculate each medal’s scrap value – PyeongChang’s gold medals are worth about $577, silver medals are worth around $320, and bronze medals only have a scrap value of about $3.50.

2. Auction Value Of An Olympic Medal

If you’re looking to get max cash for your Olympic medal, an auction is probably the way to go. According to Jonathan Scheier, consignment director of sports memorabilia at Heritage Auctions, Olympic gold medals tend to sell for around $20-50k these days. Scheier also reports that silver medals sell for about $10-30k and bronze medals for less than $10k.

At auction, fame and event participation can have a major impact of the selling price. Typically, Summer Olympic medals sell for higher than Winter Olympic medals but there are exceptions. Same goes for gold medals, 1st-place gold medals typically go for the highest price but fame and historical context can make silver or bronze medals sell for more than gold.

3. Impact Value Of An Olympic Medal – Endorsements & Speaking

While there is no exact dollar amount calculated, the impact of winning a medal can directly correlate with an athlete’s earnings outside of competition.

“When I look at what my medal gave me, it gave me a lifetime of door-opening and opportunity … It depends on so many different circumstances—including your gender, what country you’re from, what sport you’re in, the timing of your event in the Games and even how many Olympic medals your country wins.”
— Deidra Dionne, Canadian skiing medalist turned Director at Cimoroni & Co.

So, with the right self-branding and marketing efforts – any athlete can increase their income after winning a medal. Every athlete has a good story, they just need to learn to tell it for speaking engagements, books, and more.

 

Source: MONEY